UPCOMING EVENTS

​Like us on Facebook for updates during the week!

 

In Person Meetings Starting June 7th!

​

It is amazing how meeting together as a church could be taken for granted. We have certainly learned how much we need the fellowship and ability to come together in worship. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Colossians 3:16 ESV
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

This Sunday, May 31st, will be our final online-only service. We will continue to broadcast our services on Facebook each week, however.

As a church, we want to find a safe way to worship together once again …while respecting the guidelines of medical professionals. The issues surrounding the shutdowns, social-distancing, and near continual news coverage can be a divisive issue for even the strongest believers. It is not an easy issue for church leadership to navigate. 

Working together with Pastor Hilary and the board, I have developed a plan for a slow restart of corporate worship. It is understandable that some of the guidelines will not be popular. Try to understand that every person has a different perspective on reopening. There are some who will be nervous and others eager. We are trying to be as respectful to every member of our congregation as possible.

We will once again start meeting together on Sunday, June 7th. It will look different from that which we have grown accustomed. 

Church will begin at 10:00 AM. Please do not arrive more than ten minutes before. We will have a shortened service. PLEASE do not complain about this. I am not quenching the Spirit. I am trying to strike a balance between the free expression of our faith and the guidelines of health professionals. It is not an easy balance…try to understand the prayer and planning that has gone into this.

We need to refrain from mingling, shaking hands, hugging, etc. It is understandable that this is difficult for many people. We are SLOWLY working back into the patterns in which we have become accustomed. Please help us.

For at least the first month – Nursery care will be unavailable, and the nursery will be off-limits. We are not prepared to clean every toy, surface, and item. I would ask that you please understand the need to keep the area clean and sanitary.

There will be no children’s church. Pastor Hilary will have some pre-packaged activities available for kids. She will also continue to record an online children’s service each week.

Seating arrangements: Family units can sit together, but we will ask that you leave two seats open between non-family units. We will also be blocking off every other row. 

The guidelines for attendance are to be 25% capacity. We can have no more than 50 people in the upstairs area of the church. That will be a challenge going forward. We do not want to turn people away, so we must figure out how to manage attendance. If our attendance exceeds this number, we may need to ask some families to move downstairs. (This is not a great solution) We might also need to look at having more than one service. We really won’t know until after we get started. 

If you are at an elevated risk for covid-19, I would ask that you consider staying home and continuing to worship with us online. Here is my reasoning:
I do not want to put your health at risk. I know that nobody else wants to put your health at risk. If you are here, people will worry about you. If you stay home, you are not displaying a lack of faith, but rather simply showing good judgment. 

We are easing back into this. If someone were to get sick right away, these past couple of months would seem like they have been wasted.

We will not require masks, but if you are comfortable wearing one, we will encourage their use. We will have sanitizer and tissues available in several areas. We will have the doors blocked open so that you will not have to touch the handles. 

Bathrooms will be available, BUT please try to plan ahead. The service will be shorter. There is a good chance that with proper planning your family might be able to make it through without needing the facilities. 😉

At the conclusion of the service we will ask that you exit the building without mingling. If you would like to spend a few moments talking, the best place is outside. 

We are easing back into this. I would love to simply return to the way things were. That isn’t an option right away. I understand some of these policies might seem overly structured. I am trying to strike a balance between faith and governmental guidance. 

I am excited that we will once again be getting together. The new guidelines will be hard to get used to. Hopefully, this is something temporary. 

See you again soon,

Brynn